#Chapter 173: Release

Hannah I awoke with a start, the warm sun against my cheek doing little to quell my sudden jolt. The white sheets against my skin felt soft and warm but unfamiliar, and for a moment, panic gripped me. This wasn’t my bed. These pillows, though plush and stuffed with down, weren’t mine. The curtains hanging from the windows were sheet, not thick and heavy with velvet and tassels. And then it hit me. Slowly, memories of the previous night trickled back. The gala, the nightmare, and then... Noah. My cheeks flushed as I remembered the way he had carried me up the stairs, the feel of his lips on mine, the heat of his body against my flesh. His taut muscles as he moved above me. His long fingers gripping the headboard. His tousled hair falling into his eyes. My name on his lips. The scent of him still lingered on the pillows, indicating that he had only just recently left the room, although I was mercifully alone now. Alone in the wake of a n